Trigger warning: mention of sexual abuse, body dysmorphia and cannibalism.
One may have heard of Placentophagy, aka the act of consuming afterbirth/placenta (I learnt about that against my will from Kim Kardashian). But what about consuming unborn fetuses for eternal youth? That is exactly what Mrs. Li (Miriam Yeung), a middle-aged actress sets out to do, as she visits Aunty Mei, played by Bai Ling, to sample her highly sought after anti-ageing fetus dumplings (yes, you read that right). Her motives aren’t to regain a fading stardom or a halted career due to the limited shelf life of an actress in the industry, but to win the affections of an unfaithful and altogether neglectful husband. It’s like striking a deal with the devil and your guess is as good as mine over where this obscure C-horror is headed.
Adapted from director Fruit Chan’s short segment from the 2004 horror anthology, “Three… Extremes,” “Dumplings” is neither pro-life nor pro-choice (so hold off on those pitchforks) but instead a think piece. The screenplay is penned by bestselling horror/fantasy novelist Lilian Lee, and thus, the movie is framed via the female gaze/perspective.
The Horrors Female Face
The ingredients of the unorthodox dish aren’t what grossed me out, but rather the cruelty meted out towards its female protagonist(s)—be it Mrs. Li turning back the clock for a womanizing husband who pervs out over younger women. Or, Mei who despite her medical background as a skilled gynecologist lives in a cramped apartment, choosing to return to the kitchen, looks young but is still referred to as ‘aunty,’ and is kept in servitude by the pampered elite and government alike. Later, Mei is visited by a schoolgirl, Kate who is raped by her father, and whose mother pleads for an illegal abortion. These incidents further place grave emphasis on the real horrors faced by females on a daily basis, in fact even since birth.
Mei sourcing the fetuses from the bordering country of China is yet another spine-chilling thought. This is a country with a long standing history of female foeticide and thus, a dumpling made from the flesh of a male fetus (a sentence I never thought I’d write) is a rarity since a male child is usually carried to term. While Mei has grown desensitised to aborting female fetuses, she is still very much aware of the patriarchal connotations. In a conversation with Mrs. Li, she bluntly states that through her actions, she is ‘cleansing’ the mothers who would otherwise be deemed impure for birthing a girl child. Unlike some leftover fetuses which don’t make it into the crock pot, and instead are recycled as compost for Mei’s rose garden, women on the contrary are portrayed as disposable and entirely replaceable without so much as a second glance.
A Spine-Chilling Premise
Staying true to the genre, this gastro horror plates up its titular dish in a horrifying, thought provoking and simultaneously, dare I say…delectable fashion. The dumplings look genuinely tempting, thus tricking the mind into actually overlooking the shady main ingredient. The visuals and sound effects accompanying scenes of Mei preparing them on the other hand are revolting. From the moist, gummy, still fresh bits of cartilage/tissue squelching and crunching under her meat cleaver (which she wields with surgical precision) to a closeup shot of the bloodstained chopping board. The movie is also dotted with egg motifs (fertilised or otherwise) as in another scene, Mr. Li scoops up a spoonful of balut- a Filipino snack consisting of a boiled duck/chicken egg with a nearly-developed chick embryo still cocooned in its shell, which is considered as an aphrodisiac. In spite of this, he hardly showers any love on Mrs Li.
Bai Ling delivers a spirited performance as Mei, at once eccentric and outspoken yet callous too. As Mrs. Li, Miriam Yeung also conveys her character’s internal moral dilemma well. Even when Mr. Li breaks his leg, calling for her assistance, she wears a scorned and uncaring expression, since she receives his call just as she’s finishing off a bowl of dumplings. The phone call immediately breaks her from a stupor bought on by the filling meal, and she considers her injured husband an afterthought just as he’d done throughout the movie with her.
Watch ‘Dumplings’ with an Iron Stomach
Due to Yeung’s sympathetic performance, viewers can’t help but pity the insecure Mrs. Li as she curls up in her bubble bath and weeps upon watching reruns of her old show, perceiving herself as an ugly creature dismissed by a husband who projects his own ideal, superficial image of youth and beauty upon her. All the while, she is surrounded by things of beauty such as rose petals floating in the bath water and a beautiful background score. Tony Leung Ka-fai (Mr. Li) had me cursing under my breath every time he showed up on-screen.
Like “The Substance” and “Death Becomes Her,” the subtext in “Dumplings” is enough to make one shudder. Regardless of whether you prefer your dumplings seasoned with fetus blood or not, it is a highly potent work but requires an iron stomach to sit through it.
“Dumplings is available to stream via Fandango At Home.
